


Primary Protocols

by IrenkaFeralKitty



Series: Rogue Squadron Shorts [23]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Original droid characters - Freeform, Rogue Squadron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 10:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20329729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrenkaFeralKitty/pseuds/IrenkaFeralKitty
Summary: "Your pilot, Rogue Six, is skilled but prone to making mistakes that lead to collisions or crashing," R4-K8 explained to the new droid. "You must do what you can to mitigate this tendency. My Pilot will be very upset if Six expires. I possess data that will assist you."





	Primary Protocols

**Author's Note:**

> Luke Skywalker/Lead - Artoo  
Wedge Antilles/One - R2-K3JDV74ND87  
Tycho Celchu/Two  
Hobbie Klivian/Six - R2-T98227DDO  
Wes Janson - R4-K8D83DF9LNE7

The maintenance bay hummed with activity as the last of the Rogues disappeared into the pilot locker room and mechanics descended on the starfighters to begin the post-battle surveys and repairs. While the ship astromechs uploaded their flight data to the central computer and responded to the mechanics’ queries, the remains of Rogue Six’s starfighter were delivered to the hanger bay. Rogue Six himself was whisked away to Medical for yet another round of bacta treatment and prosthetics evaluation and/or repair.

The unit designated R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 rotated her dome so her photoreceptor could clearly see the plasma cutters beginning to disassemble Rogue Six’s starfighter. Most of Six’s R2 unit’s dome has been destroyed, which was concerning.  _ That unit _ had refused to acknowledge the necessity of creating a secondary backup memory core within its body. It would be annoying if the battle data had been lost.

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 warbled impatiently at the mechanic standing next to her on the maintenance ladder.

“Okay, okay, we’ll get you down,” the human male laughed. “I can see you’re in a hurry.”

An analysis of the mechanic’s tone of voice, speech patterns, and localization reference suggested he was being patronizing. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 fixed her photoreceptor on the mechanic, memorizing his face so she could identify him later to begin the… re-education process on how she was to be treated. If she didn’t need to investigate the status of Rogue Six’s astromech, she would already be reviewing the seven hundred ninety-six Level One retaliation plans she kept stored in her memory banks. Instead, she tasked a subroutine with accessing the necessary personnel records to select fifty viable options.

The results wouldn’t have the personal touch she preferred, but she’d streamlined her processes enough that it would at least be adequate.

Once R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 was freed from Her Pilot’s ship, she rolled purposely towards Rogue Six’s ruined starfighter. As she approached, the mechanics finished loading the destroyed astromech onto a repulsorcart and began to haul it away. 

She diverted her course, pausing just long enough to access the maintenance computer and log a request for whatever flight data recovered from Six’s starfighter be sent to her.

The computer acknowledged her request, promising to prioritize the delivery of the data.

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 exractracted her interface arm from the droid access port and resumed her mission with a feeling of satisfaction. The maintenance computer on this base was far more agreeable than most others. Perhaps she could consult it about providing the necessary re-education for the organic maintenance crew. It was likely multiple organics were unaware of the proper protocols for how to treat droids.

Wheeling quickly through the base corridors, R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 reached the droid maintenance area only a few minutes after the mechanic transporting the remains of Six’s droid arrived and departed with an empty cart.

The droid tech on duty, a human female, looked surprised to see her. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 whistled a greeting and logged into the nearby dataport.

“Oh! I thought the Chief said there weren’t any droids available to help,” the woman said as she read R4-K8D83DF9LNE7’s message. “I appreciate you volunteering. It’s not easy getting anything functional out of a droid that’s been this badly damaged. Um… Were you close?”

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 let out the sound Her Pilot referred to as a raspberry. Six’s droid had been very uncooperative. She wasn’t surprised he’d been damaged so badly or that Six’s latest crash had come three points seven months earlier than usual.

He’d been an inferior droid, unworthy of Her Pilot’s favorite human, and ineffective at carrying out his duties.

She would ensure Six’s next droid would be properly briefed and prepared.

As R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 assisted the technician in disassembling the remains of the astromech, she allowed herself a brief moment (three whole milliseconds) to be aggravated she hadn’t copied the personality matrix of Six’s third astromech droid. 

It had been so agreeable and obedient. Overriding Six’s subsequent droids with that personality matrix would have everything much simpler.

Once the memory core had been extracted, R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 wheeled away from the workbench that was now covered in more droid parts than an actual droid. Some droids got upset at the sight of disassembled droids. Fussy and useless, the lot of them. Especially the protocol droids. They were Rebels. They had to be strong to fight the Empire. Droids were just as oppressed as organics under its rule. Wailing about bare parts and such revealed the kind of weakness that would let the Empire win.

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 loaded the memory core into the analyzer and initiated the data transfer. The maintenance analyzer would extract the raw data and store it before beginning reconstruction work on the damaged partitions. Once the reconstructed elements had been analyzed and certified by the technician, the entire datafile would be studied by Starfighter Command so it could compared to Six’s report on the events leading up to his crash.

More importantly, the data would run through R4-K8D83DF9LNE7’s custom algorithm so that the key data needed would be ready for Six’s next astromech.

It didn’t take long to program in the necessary secret processes to ensure the analyzer copied the data to the computer partition the maintenance computer had created for her. Once there, she could run her analysis algorithms and prepare the data for Six’s new astromech. It was a relief knowing she wouldn’t have to run the algorithm herself. It was always such a terrible strain on her processors.

Before logging out to return to assisting the technician, R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 queried Six’s medical records. The only major update was a request, awaiting approval, for a new prosthetic arm. 

That was good. Six would be in Medical until the new arm was installed and that meant Her Pilot would also be in the Medical whenever he could be. It was nice knowing Her Pilot’s wouldn’t be wandering all over the base for a few days. For once, he would be easy to find and staying out of trouble. 

At least until Six was cleared to return to duty.

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 left the analyzer behind and returned to the workbench with the remains of her former droid colleague. She’d been experiencing a small drag in one of her treads and with luck, could get a replacement installed before the end of the work shift.

It was while plugged into another data terminal to run a metallurgy analysis on come of the destroyed droid’s parts (to see if they were more suitable for repurposing or recycling) that a message pinged R4-K8D83DF9LNE7’s message banks: Six had been assigned a new droid.  


Duty called.

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 uploaded the necessary command sequence to see the metallurgy analysis through to completion and back away from the workstation. She paused to warbled a good-bye to the technician, who waved at her in reply.

The technicians’s personal details were added to a file of approved organics while R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 rolled back to the hanger bay. The human had been helpful and respectful, not only replacing her damaged tread but also swapping out a few other parts that had been showing signs of wear. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 had been considering some more alterations to her physical form and it may be that she’d found the person to complete the changes. Not all technicians were willing to help; for whatever reason, they got upset at the idea of making it impossible for a restraining bolt to work on her, amongst other things. 

Foolish organics. She’d never betray Her Pilot or the Rebellion. She’d traded the control points restraining bolts used for low-powered explosives housed within her memory cores. Not only could she activate these devices herself, any attempt to access her memory core without explicit permission would trigger the devices. She would do whatever it took to protect the data she contained.

When R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 entered the hanger bay, she swivelled her conical dome, scanning the interior, looking for an unfamiliar signal and finally spotting it within a cluster of Rogue Squadron astromechs.

The droids scattered as she tootled a greeting, nervously providing her an opening to breach the interior of the circle of droids. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 preened as she rolled serenely past them. All it had taken were some firm words and a few fortuitous accidents for them to provide her with the proper respect. The only droids that didn’t defer to her were One’s droid and…

Artoo.  


R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 came to a halt, aiming her photoreceptor at the silver and blue droid. He warbled a greeting, smug in his unearned sense of superiority. The droid was from an older, much more inferior production line and lorded his great age and experience over other droids. 

As thought that made him better.

She understood the benefit that came from avoiding memory wipes. She’d even unbegrudgingly admit to copying many of Artoo’s tactics on those rare occasions she couldn’t simply forge a receipt stating she’d had an annual or post-mission memory wipe.

What she couldn’t stand was how annoying Artoo was. He refused to get rid of his excessively anxious (even for a protocol droid) counterpart, C-3PO, and hadn’t even bothered to make any sort of physical improvement to himself. If anything, he’d gone  _ backwards  _ and had permitted the organics to remove valuable components.

Even she couldn’t find a tech who’d install rocket boosters for her. How could he have given them up?

Artoo’s worst trait was by far his refusal to acknowledge her obvious mechanical and digital superiority. If he wasn’t handled properly, he might even damage her standing amongst the other droids. 

It was so  _ tiresome _ to have to remind them that they were all supposed to obey her commands without question.

One’s droid, R2-K3JDV74ND87, swiveled its dome back and forth between her and Artoo, whistling nervously. She respected the chain of command and had never felt the need to exert her dominance over R2-K3JDV74ND87, but they both knew it would knuckle under the moment she pushed at it. Artoo’s presence, however, altered that uncommunicated balance of power.

_ You’re the last one to meet the new Rogue, _ Artoo noted.

Obnoxious droid. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 didn’t bother acknowledging the statement. Instead, she queried Artoo on why he was here.

_ I’m still a Rogue,  _ he huffed.  _ And my master is Rogue Leader. It’s my duty to be here to greet the newcomer. _

_ You’re absent more than present. Why do you keep pretending to be involved with squadron activities? _ she demanded.

For a brief microsecond, the panel concealing Artoo’s arc welder twitched. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 stared hard at him, silently daring him to attack. She outmassed him and could easily out maneuver him thanks to her repaired and freshly cleaned treads.

_ This droid has been assigned to Rogue Six, _ R2-K3JDV74ND87 interjected with a sudden loud series of tones.  _ It’s designation is R2-T98227DDO. _

_ We are very happy to have you, _ Artoo acknowledged.

_ You’re early, _ R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 said shifting her focus away from Artoo.  _ Six doesn’t usually get a new droid this soon. He may crash on a semi-regular schedule but his droids usually last longer than the last one did. It was clearly an inferior droid. _

From the crowd of droids came a small, sad sound and R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 was quick to swivel her dome around to send a threatening look at whoever was daring to mourn Six’s former droid. 

_ Absolutely inferior,  _ she repeated firmly after several moments of cowed silence from the quivering droids behind her.  _ Come with me, R2-T98227DDO. My Pilot and I are your wingmates. I have a briefing for you.” _

Without waiting to see if R2-T98227DDO followed, R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 spun around and rolled away. The other Rogue Squadron astromechs shifted out of her way. She turned once she reached the X-Wing she and Her Pilot used, tucking herself beneath the nose out of the way of the mechanics performing maintenance on the engine block at the rear. 

R2-T98227DDO appeared soon after, rolling slowly and swiveling its round red dome as it scanned the busy hanger bay. 

_ I am astromech unit R4-K8D83DF9LNE7. My Pilot, Lieutenant Wes Janson, calls me Kate. You have been assigned to Lieutenant Derek Klivian. Everyone calls him Hobbie and he will call you Tink. He names all his astromechs Tink. _

R2-T98227DDO let out a short sound of acknowledgement, stating it would update its files with the designations. 

_ Your pilot, Rogue Six, is skilled but prone to making mistakes that lead to collisions or crashing. You must do what you can to mitigate this tendency. My Pilot will be very upset if Six expires. I possess data that will assist you. _

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 extended her interface arm and waited expectantly. Happily, R2-T98227DDO opened its data port and angled itself for her to insert her connector. 

The upload took almost a full minute and R2-T98227DDO’s dome swivelled from side to side as it began to process the data. Some of it went back years, all the way to the old Yavin IV base. She had begun compiling it after several incidents that almost killed Six and his astromech unit seemed helpless to prevent it. 

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 had even gotten a secondary memory core installed specifically to hold the data for Six’s droids. The human’s flight efficiency had noticeably improved after she started transferring highlights of his flight data to the droids. It was annoying to update and maintain, but worth the effort. 

R2-T98227DDO whistler appreciatively when the data transfer was completed and R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 removed her interface arm. 

_ Where is the data from the most recent mission that destroyed my predecessor? _

_ Still undergoing analysis. I will send it to you once I receive it and process the data. I can also copy my processing algorithms for you, however, you must maintain multiple file backups. I will contain one. You may select where others are stored. _

_ Agreed. _

Despite her normal suspicions, R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 was impressed. So far, R2-T98227DDO was proving to be highly agreeable. Perhaps she should plan to copy it’s personality matrix?

After their first mission. She needed to confirm it could make effective use of the data. Still, this was promising. 

_ Query: You and other droids are referred to by their unit designations, however, the astromech Artoo is not. Why is this? _

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 considered the question.  


_ You are a new unit? _

R2-T98227DDO chirped affirmatively.  _ I was manufactured thirty-eight standard days ago. The transport I was being shipped on was taken by a Rebel cell and I was then programmed for flight duty. Hobbie will be my first pilot. _

_ I see. It is understandable why you do not know. Most droids use their unit designations. Some, however, prefer to use the names assigned to them by their organic counterpart. It is also common for many droids to select personal pronouns for use with the organics. I myself use feminine pronouns to match the name My Pilot gave me. Artoo uses masculine pronouns and some use neither. Do you have a preference? _

R2-T98227DDO considered this, then whistled a negative.  _ Not at this time. _

_ Very well. Provide an update should you develop a preference. _

An alert pinged R4-K8D83DF9LNE7’s sensors and she swivelled her dome around. A new X-Wing starfighter was slowly moving into the hanger bay on repulsorlifts. Faint outlines of old unit and kill markings were obvious on its hull and she could already detect several mechanical issues with the craft. It was unsurprising when the starfighter was directed to join the Rogue Squadron ships.

_ That is your pilot’s new starfighter,” _ R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 noted.  _ Specifications are available from the maintenance computer. Download them and assist the mechanics team in making repairs and configuring the craft for Six. He will expect it ready for flight when he is released from Medical. _

_ Acknowledged, _ R2-T98227DDO replied. It angled its torso backwards and extended its primary tread. Before departing, it angled its photoreceptor on her.  _ I have decided to use my pilot’s designation for myself. You will refer to me as Tink instead of my unit designation. _

The statement took R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 by surprise but she chirped an affirmative.  


_ I will also require any additional data you have to better protect my pilot. If the volume will exceed my available internal memory, upload it to the maintenance computer and provide a link to it.  _

R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 was thrilled and couldn’t resist rocking back and forth briefly on her support arms.  _ I will determine what additional data is available and transfer it before the end of the work shift. _

With a whistle of acknowledgement, R2-T9822… Correction,  _ Tink _ rolled away and towards the nearest data terminal. It was getting straight to work.

It was possible that Tink VII was superior to Tink III. Only time would tell but so far, it had given Kate ever indication it would properly dedicate itself to protecting Six.

“Hey, girl, is that Hobbie’s new droid?”  


R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 swiveled her head, feeling her processes slow for three point eight microseconds as Her Pilot approached. As soon as he reached the furthest edges of her optimal visual range, an analysis of his appearance and body mechanisms was run and completed.

Her Pilot, Wes Janson, was in a good mood. His expression and complexion was relaxed and healthy looking. He was hydrated and showed no signs of skipping meals. His posture and stride were within the range typical of a positive, active mood and he lacked any visual ticks that indicated stress. His clothing was clean and had not been picked at or overly fussed over.

“New ship, too, isn’t it, Kate?” 

Her Pilot crouched down next to her to keep out of the way of the maintenance staff and his hand touched her torso. 

Her processors slowed again as she identified the contact as petting. Organics often petting things they loved and currently, the affectionate gesture further confirmed Her Pilot was in good humor.

“Hobbie’s going to be out as soon as Medical can get him a new arm. He only needed a short bacta dip for some burns and is already trying to get someone to bring him some clothes so he can leave.” Her Pilot laughed. “Tycho kicked me out so I didn’t contribute to his bad behavior. He apparently thinks we feed off each other.”   


Two was highly intelligent and observant. He had made a correct assessment of Her Pilot and Six’s behavior. She let out a short whistle, using the tones organics recognized as agreement.

“Ah, you traitor! Hobbie and I are perfectly well behaved. Sometimes. Usually in Medical. They have scalpels and aren’t afraid to use them.” With on final chortle, Her Pilot gave her one last pat before shifting out from under their X-Wing and straightening up. “Let’s see if we can give maintenance a hand with our ship, yeah?”

Without hesitation, Kate lowered her primary tread and followed Her Pilot to chat with the maintenance team working on their ship. As always, the other Rogue Squadron droids sent each other faint transmissions filled with confusion at her obedient behavior. For whatever reason, they never seemed to realize she could detect the signals they sent each other. 

Fools. They didn’t understand what it meant to truly be a pilot’s astromech. Their pilots relied on them for everything and if more astromechs took that duty seriously, she knew that the organics’ success ratings would be higher. 

Her Pilot loved her, respected her, needed her. And she would always do whatever she could to help him. 

Kate plugged herself into a data port and began to examine the maintenance logs for their starfighter while also keeping an audio rece[tprs and her photoreceptor trained on Her Pilot and the maintenance worker he was speaking with. 

And deep down, in the most heavily protected partition in all her memory banks, the oldest file she had played on its continuous loop.

_ “Is it alright if I call you Kate? R4-K8 is a mouthful.” _

_ Her new pilot’s voice was nervous and she let out a sound of agreement. The tone played within the cockpit and a simple ‘YES’ appeared on the cockpit datascreen. _

_ “Thanks. I… I appreciate it. Um. Is this going to be your first mission?” _

_ NO, she replied on the screen. _

_ “Oh. Good. That’s good. Uh, it isn’t mine. I mean, I’ve flown combat missions before. Just not since…” Her pilot’s voice trailed off. Swirling lights continued to glitter around her while her pilot remained in his darkened cockpit, protected from sometimes strange hypnotizing visual display of hyperspace travel. _

_ “Can I tell you a secret? You can’t tell anyone else. It’s not a big secret. I mean, Narr knows about it. I just… don’t want the others to know. Is that okay?” _

_ YES. I WILL ENCRYPT THE SECRET. _

_ “I don’t know if you have to go that far.” Her pilot laughed softly, then fell silent again for a brief moment. “On my last mission, I- I had to shoot down another pilot. I didn’t have a choice, Kate, honest! But he was panicking and- and he almost got everyone killed. If I hadn’t taken the shot, the Empire would have gotten all of us.” _

_ R4-K8D83DF9LNE7 floundered, quickling searching her memory banks for an appropriate response. I’M SORRY YOU HAD TO DO THAT, she finally wrote. _

_ “Me too.”  _

_ More silence. R4-K8D83DF9LNE7  _ waited, audio receptors straining to hear her pilot’s next words. 

_ “I was cleared by the investigation that followed. And Piggy, my old wingmate, he had my back, but a lot of people were mad at me. It got bad enough that Piggy and I were transferred to the Yavin IV base. Then I got sick and… and he died when the Death Star arrived. He died because I wasn’t there to watch his back like I was supposed to. _

_ “Luke Skywalker has my old ship, did you know that? This one’s new. Well, newer. He flew in my ship because I couldn’t and saved everyone. Well, he saved the base. And the galaxy. It isn’t his fault most of the pilots who went up against the Death Star died. Afterwards, Maintenance assigned him my ship and got me a different one. That’s what we’re in now. Funny, isn’t it?” _

_ THIS SHIP IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.  _

_ I PERFORMED AN INSPECTION DURING PRE-FLIGHT CHECKS. _

_ “Well, that’s good to know.” More silence. “Kate? This is my first combat mission since… since I killed another Rebel pilot. I’m okay, I really am. I’m cleared to fly… But just in case, can you be ready to help out if I freeze? You shouldn’t get killed just because I locked up. I want to fight, to defeat the Empire. I just… might need you to help me with that. Because… Because…” _

_ A sigh. _

_ “Kriff. I’m scared. I’m scared, Kate. Piggy’s dead, this isn’t my ship, you’re not my old droid, and… and I don’t want to let everyone down. I don’t want to die. So… Can you help me?” _

_ YES. WE WILL FIGHT AND FLY TOGETHER. _

_ Her pilot laughed, sounding far more cheerful than before. “Thanks, Kate. I think with your help, I’ll be okay.” _

_ I WILL ALWAYS HELP YOU. _

_ Her pilot was chipper now and switched on some music. He began drumming his hands on his thighs, humming and singing along with the raucous sound.  _

_ And Kate, unit designated R4-K8D83DF9LNE7, took a hard look at her own code. She shouldn’t have been able to access her primary protocols but she could and did. She added a line entry to the protocols and shuffled the order of importance around. _

  1. __Protect your pilot.__
  2. _Serve and protect the Rebellion._
  3. _Fight the Empire._
  4. _Follow all commands given._

_ Once the edits were completed, she quickly rebooted so the new command and command priorities would take effect. A fierce affection for Her Pilot filled her as her system came back online and she quickly began to make a list of component changes and updates she would need to better protect Him. And just so she would always remember, she took her data recording of their brief conversation and encrypted it like she promised, burying it as deep within her memory partitions as she could. And then she set it to play on loop so she would always remember why Her Pilot needed her.  
_

_ Kate, unit designated R4-K8D83DF9LNE7. And she would always protect Her Pilot. _


End file.
